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Feeling happy is the best feeling there is! And this page has heaps of fun activities you can do to feel happier every day.

See this month’s activities

Gratitude

This is when you think about things you are thankful for (like friends, ice-cream and funny jokes!).

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Empathy

Being kind to other people is a special kind of magic — because it makes us feel good too!

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Mindfulness

Sometimes things can be TOO exciting and make our heads spin! But slowing down and taking big breaths can help a lot.

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Emotional Literacy

It’s ok to feel sad, grumpy or scared sometimes. But knowing your feelings will help you feel better quicker.

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Let’s Practise!

If you want to learn to ride a skateboard or get better at maths, you need to practise. It’s the same when you want to feel happier!

Here are some easy ideas to give Gratitude, Empathy, Mindfulness and Emotional Literacy a try every day. Because the more you practise, the better you will feel.

Gratitude

Draw or tell someone about something that made you feel good today. It could be something as simple as patting a nice dog or as big as winning a running race! Try to do this at the end of every day.

Empathy

Keep an eye out for how others are feeling today. Maybe you could invite a classmate who doesn’t have anyone to play with at lunchtime to join you. Or if a family member seems a bit sad, give them a hug. Try to show empathy to at least one person every day.

Mindfulness

Spend some time each day on a quiet activity, like a puzzle, colouring in, drawing or LEGO. These are good breaks for your brain – and fun too!

Emotional Literacy

During dinner, play an emotion guessing game – asking each family member to pull a face of an emotion they felt that day and see who can name the emotion first!

Activities to try this month

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Gratitude

#DISMOMENT Challenge

5-10m

Showing gratitude is the ability to appreciate what you have in your life rather than worrying about what you don’t have. Did you know if you practice looking out for just 3 things that went well for you each day for 42 days, research has actually shown that you:

• are less likely to get sick
• have higher levels of energy
• feel happier
• are more enthusiastic
• are more attentive
• are more determined
• are more optimistic
• have a better quality of sleep

TIP: Click on the “+” button to do the activity
Tap on the “+” button to do the activity

Watch this video of Hugh and Martin from The Resilience Project describing the #DISMOMENT challenge and sharing what they are both grateful for in their lives.

Depending on resources and time you can:

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When the videos are finished get your parents to share them with us at [email protected]

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Mindfulness

Mindful Origami

5m

Origami is the art of folding paper to create different shapes, objects and animals and comes from the Japanese culture. A little bit like mindful colouring, origami requires you to focus on the present moment and keep your attention on one thing at a time. This can help calm your mind and relax your body.

The best part about Origami is that it doesn’t matter if you can’t do it perfectly each time, it’s about practising and focussing on the paper – how it looks, what it feels like, what shape it’s becoming.

TIP: Click on the “+” button to do the activity
Tap on the “+” button to do the activity
TRY THIS… Below is a video for you to watch and follow along, either by yourself or try it with a friend or family member. All you need is a some paper. Have fun!
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Hold onto your hats and get ready to giggle — it’s time for GEM TV starring the outrageously energetic Martin Heppell! Each episode explores a different evidence-based principle linked to positive mental health — Gratitude, Empathy, Mindfulness, Emotional Literacy and Connection — while being fun and engaging for children in primary school and younger.

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GEM TV episodes

Book Week readings

Get to know us

The Resilience Project delivers emotionally engaging programs to schools, sports clubs and businesses, providing practical, evidence-based mental health strategies to build resilience and happiness.

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Gratitude

You say ‘thank you’ to people when they give you a gift or do something nice for you — practicing gratitude is like saying ‘thank you’ to life for the same!

Evidence

When you pay attention to all the wonderful things in your life, rather than focusing on the things you want or don’t have, your brain does something awesome — it makes you feel better about yourself and the world. And it only takes 21 days for our brains to make this switch! Practicing gratitude helps you to feel more energetic and excited about the future. You may notice that you can concentrate better at school or feel more determined to play your best in sport. It can even help you have a better sleep and not get sick as often!

Empathy

Just because your friend is hurt or upset doesn’t necessarily mean you feel the same way. But you would still show them kindness because you understand how bad it feels to be hurt or upset. This is called empathy — when you put yourself in someone else’s shoes.

Evidence

Everyone is different. But trying to understand how someone else is feeling by being kind and compassionate towards them doesn’t just help them to feel better. When you show empathy or do something kind for someone else, your brain releases a chemical that makes you feel happy too! Imagine you’re the richest person in the world but you have no friends or family to share it with. You wouldn’t feel very happy, would you? Empathy helps us feel closer to other people and makes us better friends and family members. This makes us feel better about ourselves and gives us more confidence, energy and overall happiness.

Mindfulness

When you run really, really fast, everything around you becomes a blur. But when you slow down, you can suddenly see everything more clearly. This is what happens when we practice mindfulness — we’re giving our brains the chance to slow down and take in what’s going on around us.

Evidence

Sometimes when there is so much going on, it can make our heads spin! We can feel sad or nervous or frustrated and not know how to make those feelings go away.

But something special happens when you shift your focus away from those feelings and start to pay attention to what your body is doing instead. If you ask yourself, ‘What can I see around me?’ ‘What can I smell?’ ‘What can I hear?’ By doing this, you’re giving your brain the chance to calm down and relax. Those thoughts that were making your head spin earlier will start to get quieter.

Doing this every day can help you stay focused on tasks, do better at school and be an overall happier person because your brain isn’t so cluttered and blurry.

Emotional Literacy

Happy. Sad. Confused. Excited. Scared. There SO MANY feelings that you can feel at any given time and all of them are perfectly normal. But being able to recognise and label those feelings as they happen can mean they don’t affect you so much over time!

Evidence

When everyone refused to say Voldemort’s name in Harry Potter, it only gave him more power. It’s the same when it comes to feelings.

When you aren’t able to express your feelings, they stay bottled up inside of you until you suddenly explode! But being able to say ‘I am feeling a bit worried at the moment’ means you can do something about it before those feelings overwhelm you. You can ask for help or you can remove yourself from the situation that causing you to worry. Practicing this will allow you to cope better when things get tough in future, such as if you have a disagreement with a friend or try out something new.